Workday at the Studio With an Update

"Cream and Sugar" 12 x 18 Pastel on Wallis Sanded Paper (Work in Progress)

"Cream and Sugar" close up (again with the cell phone camera)

Today was my first day working at the studio space and I had an absolute great time. A little classical music, a Starbucks, a dark studio with a couple of spotlights.....awesome! The time just flies.

Update on Cream and Sugar - Studio Space

Worked in class on layering color in the darks, without losing the abstract structure. Always so much to learn."Cream and Sugar" Work in Progress 12 x 18 Pastel on Wallis (camera phone pic)

I am very excited as I will be working Mondays and Wednesdays in the space where we have class. By paying a few extra dollars a month I will have access to be able to paint whenever I want. I've gone through my calendar and x'd out all the days I plan to work for the next few months.

Starting out with small studies in the mornings will help me get warmed up to work on my bigger pieces in the afternoon.

I'm so excited!

Good Day!

It was a lovely day yesterday!

First of all, I won a Merit award for "Gourd & Peppers" at the Mountainside Art Guild's "Views of the East & West". It's on display at the Lakewood Arts Council's Community Center and Art Gallery this next month.


"Gourd & Peppers" 3.75" x 4.5" colored pencil on sanded paper

The other good news is I sold this lovely little cobalt blue perfume bottle

New Painting - Cream and Sugar

I'm starting a new painting in class, using a lovely Peach Lustre sugar bowl and an Alfred Meakin white vintage pitcher.

This will still be a light and shadow design, but in high key. The light and shadow paintings I have done up to this point have been the full range of values (1-10). High key will keep the values not quite so dark with a range of value from 1-6 with a few punches of 7.

We have also been studying dynamic symmetry (DS) as a design tool. I have included the sketch of my DS grid on tracing paper. My painting is 12 x 18, so I took a piece of tracing paper the same size and drew my grid. Then I placed my items on the grid, moving the still life items as necessary. The idea that DS will help you have a more pleasing composition (similar to the golden mean).

Sorry about the quality of the photos, I was using my cell phone camera in the dark.

A photo of the setup I'm using

My drawing (a little askew) on the DS grid

Wallis paper with drawing transferred and dark (value 6/7) structure blocked in...

Stay tuned!

Lemons and Blue Glass

Finished! This one will be in our Studio Exhibit coming up in November.

"Lemons and Blue Glass" 12 x 18 pastel on Wallis paper

(You can click on the picture to see a close up of the strokes)

Pastel Class Setup

Thought you might like to see my setup in class. The group rents a space in an office bldg and it is petitioned into smaller spaces with black drapes. We have a small kitchen and a bathroom along with space to store still life items. I took in my taboret that I was using at home and it's a great place to put my art supplies. It also works to put my pastels on as I'm working. Cool still life stands are available to each of us.

The group is planning an exhibit in November to run through mid January.

I finished this piece tonight and will photograph it tomorrow. I"ll be having it framed and will be part of the exhibit.

Note my Starbucks coffee made it into the picture!

Newest Fiber Art ACEO

"Bubbles" 2.5" x 3.5" Fiber Art ACEO

August has been such a busy month, five birthdays (including mine), two wedding anniversaries (including ours), and just general ramping up after taking a week off for the CPSA Convention in Atlanta.

My sewing room/art area was being considered for an episode on A&E's "Hoarders" until this last weekend when my sweet hubby goaded me into cleaning. I hate cleaning but it always gives me such energy. Enough so that I could finish "Bubbles".

The other great news is I am returning to pastel class on Thursday nights, and will be able to paint in my new space anytime I want. So I hope to be able to work more on pastels and get back into the swing of entering exhibits, and more blog posts.

Thanks to you all for following along on my artistic journey!

ACEO Fall Art Show

Ah, the first of September!

To celebrate the coming fall, our 1000Markets.com ACEO Market has put together it's first Art Show.

I have two pieces in the show, "Autumn Leaves" and "Copper and Jade".

Enjoy the show, and read the blog post about how one artist displays her ACEO's.

Fiber Art Demo

Last Saturday we had our final Breakfast Demo for the year. A wonderful continental breakfast was served at 9am. We ate, talked, laughed and got creative, and finished up by 10am.


Kathy's Introduction of Me and My Starbucks!

I presented the topic of the demonstration which was painting on fiber with Neocolor II Watersoluble Crayons, Inktense pencils and acrylic paint. I brought some examples of finished fiber art in different sizes, and we had a good discussion about ATC (Artist Trading Cards), ACEO's (Artist Cards Editions and Originals), miniatures (general guideline is 1:6 scale), Inchies (1 sq in), and Plus Size Inchies (1.5 - 2 sq in).


Using My W/C Brush to Add Water to the Neocolor II's

The demo included painting on cotton fabric and quilt batting, sandwiching the fabric with a stabilizer, embellishing with beads and yarn, and finishing the pieces into fiber art.

Thanks to Kate Cissell for taking photos at the Breakfast Demo!


Finished Fiber Art "Thru Emma's Eyes" 3.5 x 2.5" (ACEO sized)

For other examples of my finished fiber art work, visit my 1000Markets.com store,
Littleton Studio.

Artist's Reception for CPSA 17th Annual Intl Exhibit

Wow! What a week. I left the hotel at 4:30am this morning, flight left at 6:30 and arrived at my house at 9:30am. So glad to be home, to be able to decompress and spend some time with my hubby. He was such a sport to hold down the house while I was gone.

Thought I would share some pictures from the artist's reception yesterday afternoon.

Entrance to Jacqueline C. Hudgens Center for the Arts, Duluth, Georgia

Going into the main gallery

Artwork in the main gallery

It was a beautiful venue, and the Gallery Manager said it was the best show they have hosted at the gallery.

The Artist's Reception yesterday from 3pm-5pm

Across the street driveway from the gallery

This particular shot is our Ways and Means Director, Melissa Miller Nece, and our Corporate Image Director, Barbara Gleason, at our private showing on Tuesday night before the Board and District Chapter Forum dinner.

Now that I am home I need to start on my colored pencil/mixed media piece for the ET!6 Exhibit. Propectus should be available at the CPSA website on September 1. I also need to start on my 100% colored pencil piece for the Mar 31, 2010 deadline for the 18th Annual International Exhibit in Silicon Valley next summer.